A lesson to other pols: Detroit mayor receives 28-year prison sentence for corruption

After a few more sentences like this one, maybe...maybe...public officials will be frightened into becoming honest. Or crooks who view politics as a way to enrich themselves will avoid public service.

Meanwhile, Kwame Kilpatrick will have a lot of time to atone for his sins.

From the Detroit News:

Kwame Kilpatrick has been sentenced to serve 28 years in prison for crimes of racketeering and conspiracy committed during his six years as the mayor of Detroit. That sentence was handed down Thursday afternoon in federal court by Judge Nancy Edmunds.

Edmunds said she was required to issue a sentence that is “sufficient but not greater than necessary” for a criminal enterprise that ran from Kilpatrick’s time in the state House to the mayor’s office. She described the former mayor as a larger-than-life character who helped himself to a jet-setting lifestyle. A significant sentence, she said, sends the message that corruption won’t be tolerated.

Kilpatrick appeared stunned at hearing his sentence, and a few in the courtroom crowd could be heard saying “Oh no.” If he serves the entirety of the 28 years, the 43-year-old would be 71 when he walks out of prison.

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